Challenge

Based in Bergen, Norway, TV 2 offers content including streaming services, TV series, films, national news, and live sports. For over three decades, TV 2 has provided access to its wide array of programming through traditional paid TV plans while becoming a household name in the region. In 2001, the broadcaster expanded its reach by introducing the service that would eventually be known as TV 2 Play, a subscription-based streaming service available on various platforms, including the App Store and Google Play.

In 2022, TV 2 identified the need for a more adaptable payment system to enhance its subscription services. It aimed to better serve its audience with more flexibility. “Our legacy system was too rigid and made it hard to offer flexible subscription packages and innovative content bundling,” said Øyvind Vevang, team lead for user and order systems at TV 2.

This rigidity required complex workarounds, which slowed product development and caused friction. For example, the old system sometimes suffered from reliability issues, leading to involuntary churn and lost revenue. And when payments failed, the lack of visibility within the system made it difficult for TV 2’s customer service to resolve these issues effectively.

Additionally, TV 2 needed the ability to process popular local payment methods to improve customer experience and drive conversion. TV 2 also wanted a solution that offered clear revenue data and insights to streamline the accounting process and boost financial transparency, particularly in transactions with third-party content providers.

Solution

In late 2023, TV 2 chose Stripe from a long list of alternative providers because of its clear documentation and ease of use. Stripe’s professional services team helped TV 2 confirm Stripe’s compatibility as a billing and payments partner with a thorough review of all TV 2’s use cases, including B2B, B2C, subscription types, and partners.

TV 2 implemented Stripe Payments to ensure better reliability and minimise failed payments. Stripe professional services guided the implementation, helping TV 2 navigate blockers to deliver a seamless launch. The partnership with Stripe professional services continued post-launch to ensure a smooth migration and to support subscription rate increases for high-volume holiday peak periods.

With Payments, TV 2 was able to easily add digital wallets – Google Pay and Apple Pay – to give customers a choice of payment methods. Stripe’s Dashboards also provide TV 2 with improved visibility into payment processes, enabling the broadcaster to quickly identify and address issues, directly improving the customer experience and reducing lost revenue.

TV 2 is now implementing Stripe Billing, a solution for managing recurring revenue, to enable more flexibility and agility in subscription packaging. The Billing API allows developers to quickly design customised subscription logic and pricing models, which they can extend as needed to offer more add-ons or more sophisticated tiering. “It will save us a lot of complexity in the integration layer,” said Vevang.

Billing has several features that make transactions more likely to go through and reduce the kind of involuntary cancellations that TV 2 had previously experienced. These features include Smart Retries, which uses machine learning to intelligently retry failed payment attempts at the best times, and an automatic card account updater, which updates saved card details when new cards are received.

TV 2 is also adding Stripe Revenue Recognition to gain clearer insight into its financials. This tool is expected to provide more accurate revenue reporting, which will help with reconciling accounts with third-party content providers and enhancing financial transparency.

Results

A reliable payments platform with improved visibility

TV 2 needed less than five weeks to replace its original payment provider with Stripe. “Our dedicated consultant was exceptionally hands-on, thoroughly reviewing our code and suggesting improvements,” said Vevang. “He helped us use APIs better and even activated some internal features we hadn't considered.”

Stripe Payments has provided TV 2 with a more reliable payments platform that has fewer time-outs and failed transactions. This reliability improves the customer experience and results in more revenue for TV 2. Additionally, the use of Stripe Dashboards offers better visibility into the payment process, allowing for quicker resolution of issues and more effective dispute management.

More payment methods, higher conversion

By incorporating Google Pay and Apple Pay as additional payment methods, TV 2 is catering to a broader range of customer preferences. The company is also considering using Stripe’s extension APIs to integrate other additional popular local payment methods. “The idea is to drive conversions by offering choices,” said Vevang. “Nowadays, typing in credit card details is becoming outdated, so options like Google Pay, which works with just a fingerprint, are definitely appealing. We're confident this will help us attract more customers.”

A better range of subscription packages for customers

With Billing, TV 2 will be able to offer more diverse and flexible subscription packages, with eight options in total. TV 2 expects these offerings to bring in new customers and open up new revenue streams. Stripe's simple building blocks for subscription billing will also streamline TV 2’s payment infrastructure, making it easier to develop new products quickly. Overall, a less complex system will likely lead to better performance and fewer bugs.

By implementing Billing features such as the card account updater and Smart Retries, TV 2 is on track to significantly reduce involuntary churn among its subscription members. This is expected to lead to higher customer retention and increased revenue.

Less work for the finance team

TV 2’s finance team anticipates increased efficiency as it uses Stripe solutions to streamline back-office operations and gain real-time access to key revenue and finance data. With Revenue Recognition, TV 2 will get clearer insights into the business’s revenue and profitability, facilitating more accurate accounting and easier reconciliation with third-party content providers.